The Hon. Rishad Bathiudeen

¶ 01 Okay. I will also send details. If opened soon, goods can reach consumers at lower cost and travel will be easier.

¶ 02 In Silavathurai, we commenced a cultural hall; about 20% is complete. The last Government neglected it for four years. Please complete it.

¶ 03 Regarding hospitals, you have mentioned 5–6 hospitals to be upgraded, including Puttalam, Mannar, and Kalmunai Ashraff hospitals. Many people benefit from these; please provide resources to develop them.

¶ 04 During the war, about 100,000 people displaced from the North came to Puttalam. The Puttalam Hospital is cramped and resource-poor. In 2018 we proposed a project via JICA, but it has not been implemented. Please take it up.

¶ 05 Muslims displaced from Jaffna who returned are struggling in private lands, living in shacks; no one visits them. I took three NPP MPs to see their plight. Funds of Rs. 80 million earlier allocated for roads and canals to their area were taken back by the last Government. Hon. Ramalingam Chandrasekar, the DCC Chair this year, promised to retrieve it. Please coordinate with Hon. Bimal Rathnayake and the Resettlement Ministry to restore those funds.

¶ 06 In Puttalam and places like Thillaiyadi, IDPs lived in many camps. Roads there are in terrible condition. I secured Rs. 150 million under the previous Government; the new Government withdrew it. I requested the new DCC Chair to restore it; I also request you to return it.

¶ 07 Many said the allocation to the Eastern Province is inadequate. The East, like the North, was affected by war. The President said India would assist development in the North; please urgently implement plans. In the East, longstanding bridges like Kittangi and Mavadipalli need rehabilitation. Even if you are new to office, please use foreign assistance if needed.

¶ 08 Recently, eight lives including students were lost in floods at Mavadipalli Bridge. Deaths occur each flood. That bridge must be rehabilitated urgently.

¶ 09 Regarding Senanayake Samudraya, many spoke here. It needs deepening. Each season, the Government pays Rs. 3–6 billion in compensation for flood losses, but farmers’ losses are even higher. Even if all 50 km cannot be deepened at once, do 10 km each year and build bunds so water can be used for agriculture instead of being wasted to sea. Please implement this.

¶ 10 During floods, the Oluvil University is closed for 2–3 months; many bridges and roads used by the public are damaged. Please attend to rehabilitation.

¶ 11 ‘Sathosa’ outlets numbered 270; during my tenure as Minister, we increased to 470. Under Gotabaya Rajapaksa, many in the East were closed in a childish act, seemingly out of anger at me, and remain closed. With shortages of essentials like rice, please reopen them to supply the people.

¶ 12 SMEs are also the backbone of the economy. Though mentioned in the Budget, they must be strengthened in practice to uplift people’s livelihoods.

¶ 13 We hear that India has allocated USD 6 million for the Emergency Unit at the Mannar Hospital following our request; this is an essential need. Due to delays by health authorities, it is not implemented. Please expedite the Emergency Unit.

¶ 14 Likewise, India has allocated USD 10 million for a Centre of Excellence in Aquaculture in Mannar. The Fisheries Ministry should release approvals and implement it. Despite our rich islands, we face fish shortages and high prices. With modern initiatives, we can improve the economy and fishermen’s future.

¶ 15 Tourism is a key sector. Mannar has tourism potential. But many companies were permitted to mine mineral sands in the islets, due to past permissions. This plunders resources. Please address this. With plans, Mannar islets can be developed for tourism. When the ferry service to Rameswaram via Talaimannar operated, Mannar was economically vibrant. Please plan to revive tourism there.

¶ 16 Regarding the Forest Department: in every DCC meeting in Vavuniya, Mannar, and Mullaitivu, we discuss the danger posed by Forest Department land designations. The Ranil Wickremesinghe Government decided to release post-1984 gazetted forest lands and prepared plans but failed to implement. Now there is no grazing land, and farmers have no land to farm, reduced to labour work. From Colombo, using GPS, they demarcated and gazetted vast areas. In Periyamadu and elsewhere, reserved forest lands are locked. Similar problems exist in Ampara, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Mannar, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, and Jaffna. Please release suitable lands to the people and implement a plan.

¶ 17 Hon. Bimal Rathnayake is listening. You have allocated Rs. 5,000 million for the war-affected Northern Province—we thank you. The Eastern Province was also heavily affected, and Puttalam, though not directly in war, still bears heavy burdens due to war IDPs. Please focus on Puttalam as well. I conclude. Thank you.